23 May 2004 ---JOURNAL ENTRY THIRTY-FIVE---
Sunday morning, classical music playing (no, it's not a sign of me getting old, it's my alarm music!), beautiful weather, the trees outside are blooming, all is well in Brown Manor except for one little thing...Yep, he's getting older! This time tomorrow and I'll be 30 freakin' years old! It's hard to believe but the strangest part is any of the foreboding I have been feeling is purely injected to make it seem real. I'm such a happy human being for the most part, with a good job, great apartment, great friends, exciting travel prospects, satisfying personal history and I'm only about to turn 30. Ya see what I'm getting at? People have been saying, oooohhh, 30, Jason, what will you do? Well, I'll tell ya! I plan to get up when I feel like it (it's a Monday to help prove how good my life is), maybe go for a run, put in an extra good journal entry in the ole' diary and treat myself to a good lunch somewhere. I have to work in a town 15 minutes away by train for 2 hours in the evening but that's it. In this country you usually celebrate INTO the birthday so the celebration begins tonight. About 15 friends are coming over, we'll have some beer and mixed drinks, some snacks and shoot the shit and celebrate life. That is, after all, our job right?:
The reason for no pictures lately is that I'm looking for a new server to hold more pictures. I've been a bit lazy about that and updating this update but hell, I do have 34 entries in a year and a half, I'm not that lazy! Other reasons for the laziness: My parents are here! They have had a great time, coming into Freiburg May 7th and staying for 3 days, including for Mother's Day and then they took a night train to Venice and stayed there a couple of days and then took a train to Rome. Assiyeah and I flew from Baden-Baden to Rome 10 days ago and met them there. The four of us did Rome for a long weekend and had an amazing time, seeing the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, the Colleseum, the Spanish Steps and plenty of other little things strewn throughout the city but damn, that city is super chaotic. LA has got nothing on Rome! At least in terms of chaos, that is...Then Assiyeah and I came back and the folks went to Florence and then came back here. They leave this afternoon for Frankfurt and fly home tomorrow.
So, how do I feel about to become 30 years old? I'm hungry. I am literally hungry right now but I think symbolically it's a good thing. I know there is food to eat in my spiritual refrigerator and I have this spiritual debit card that allows me to spend freely and enjoy my life on the levels I choose. I have accomplished so much in the past 5,10, 30 years, I've got nothing but good things to say about my life. How could it be better, you ask? Well, okay, here you go! I'd like to have 10 less pounds around the stomach, 4 inches taller, and I wish I understood German better! There you go, there are 3 things that would make life "better" but then again, if I didn't want those things then it would be other things and it's all such an evil cycle, ya know?
When the hell are other people going to visit me? My folks have been here twice, Corrie, KC, Chris and Russ have all been here once. That's it! Here I am, living in the heart of Europe, working 25 hours a week, earning enough to possibly join you for part of your trip, I even have a living room for you to sleep in for a few days to help make the trip much cheaper and here you are, just reading this thinking, yeah, that's a good idea, I'd like to go to Europe. Get off your asses boys and girls, we're all getting older and if you don't know what that means, it's means complexities, responsibilities, difficulties, carreers, children, marriages, all little things that happen simultaneously in our twenties (and I assume thirties) so it's time to make sure your passport is still valid, buckle down for 2-3 months, save 600-1000 bucks and get here! Get Here! GET HERE! Okay, I've got to get ready and have breakfast with the folks, I'm lucky they are here now and I want to take advantage of that. And that's what this is really about. Taking advantage of something good. Not in a bad way, but there's an opportunity for you to chip off a piece of my life and take it home with you, as if it's a piece of the Berlin Wall or the White House (both things I have done! woops...) and bring them home so each time you look in your wallet to pay for a large coors light you'll see some reminder of this mind-altering trip and remember that oh yeah, my mind should be altered because of those mind-altering things I did. How dare I forget about the wonderful things that have happened to me. I will go right out and think about visiting Jason again because I've begun to forget how great life is...(no, I'm not waiting by the phone but feel free to email to express your thoughts on this!)
